She found herself at the verge of something she’d never come to before—where emotions commanded her mind completely. A step further and he would have all of her. Not just her body, not just her thoughts, but that most private, most well guarded possession, her heart.

She felt a greed for him and pulled away from it. If she were greedy, if she took, then he would too. He still held her, lightly enough for her to draw back, firmly enough to keep her close. She was breathless, moved. As she struggled to think clearly, Summer decided it would be foolish to try to deny either.

“I think I proved my point,” she managed.

“Yours?” Blake countered as he ran a hand up her back. “Or mine?”

She took a deep breath, expelling it slowly. That one small show of emotion had desire clawing at him again. “I’ve mixed enough ingredients to know that business affairs and personal affairs aren’t palatable. On Monday, I go to work for Cocharan. I intend to give you your money’s worth. There can’t be anything else.”

“There’s quite a bit else already.” He cupped her chin in his hand so that their eyes held steady. Inside he was a mass of aching needs and confusion. With that kiss, that long, slow kiss, he’d all but forgotten his strictest rule. Keep the emotions harnessed, both in business and in pleasure. Otherwise, you make mistakes that aren’t easily rectified. He needed time, and he realized he needed distance. “We know each other better now,” he said after a moment. “When we make love, we’ll understand each other.”

Summer remained seated when he rose. She wasn’t completely sure she could stand. “On Monday,” she said in a firmer voice, “we’ll be working together. That’s all there is between us from this point on.”

“When you deal with as many contracts as I do, Summer, you learn that paper is just that: paper. It’s not going to make any difference.”

He walked to the door thinking he needed some fresh air to clear his head, a drink to settle his nerves. And distance, a great deal of distance, before he forgot everything except the raging need to have her.

With his hand on the knob, Blake turned around for one last look at her. There was something in the way she frowned at him, with her eyes focused and serious, her lips soft in a half pout that made him smile.

“Monday,” he told her, and was gone.

Chapter Five

Why in hell couldn’t he stop thinking of her? Blake sat at his desk examining the details of a twenty-page contract in preparation for what promised to be a long, tense meeting in the boardroom. He wasn’t taking in a single word. Uncharacteristic. He knew it, resented it and could do nothing about it.

For days Summer had been slipping into his mind and crowding out everything else. For a man who took order and self-control for granted, it was nerve-racking.